"There are lots of things that go into making a school great. I think the most important are having great kids and involved parents surrounded by a wonderful faculty who really care with a low turnover rate. Without those traits, no school is likely to excel. Zilker has them in abundance. There are also things that zilker has to work extra hard to overcome: overcrowded classes (with no aides), old and undersized facilities, constant budget cuts from the state and moderately inept administration. Luckily those things are not nearly as important and no amount of funding, small class size, or shiny new facilities could make up for an uninvolved community or disinterested faculty. Zilker has what really counts and manages to overcome all the rest. One metric that is not included in any rating is the number of transfer applications a school receives, that is the number of parents who don't live in zilker but apply to transfer their kids in anyway, zilker gets more than any other campus in AISD. So when it comes to AISD, particularly in the urban core, you will not do better than zilker. But good luck finding an affordable home in its district."

Parent Review | Rating:Posted 2013-12-11

"Terrible, by the time we finally decided to get out, our child had to be held back at his new school because he was so far behind. We kept trying to get more help at this awful over rated school but nobody really cared. Most kids at the school are very mean and my son got bullied a lot without any concern from most of the staff. Yea they have lots of field trips, but so what our new school does too AND they addressed all the learning issues that we were left with from Zilker!! Like another review I read on here, if I could I would give it zero stars but I'm not allowed that option! Good luck for others keeping your kids here that may be expecting a change or things to get better because unless your child is on level and having no problems then your child is pretty much on his own!"

Parent Review | Rating:Posted 2013-02-22

"Could not be at a better school in Austin. Field trips galore, gardens in front of every classroom, involved parents, happy teachers who DO CARE! They strive to make learning fun at Zilker. Do go take a tour and visit."

Parent Review | Rating:Posted 2013-01-06

"Zilker as most public schools, is struggling to keep up with the problem kids and they want to box every kid into the same mold. My son has been bullied from day one and the teacher did not care at all. Another problem is at the cafeteria, where the "warden" starts yelling at the kids if the noise level rises a bit -c'mon, they are kust kids- and the scene reminded me of one of those prison movies, where everybody needs to shut up and listen or else... I saw it...if you don't believe it, go to lunch and you may be see it with your own eyes. The kids call her "the Ogre", she is really mean...and nobody does anything about it. Principal seems nice in paper, seems pleasant when talking to you, but no real action taken to correct any problem. If you are late - even one minute- is reported. But if you happen to be one of the moms that volunteer, you can show up with your kids at any time with no repercutions, even if your excuse was - "holiday outing at grandpa's ranch"- really? so if you want to avoid scrutinity or your kid being reported, you better volunteer to avoid any punishment. If you ask me, that's too lame and it's clear that they pick sides. Zilker is WAY overrated..."

Parent Review | Rating:Posted 2012-12-15

"We chose to live in the Zilker neighborhood solely for the school. It is a spectacular environment. Most of the teachers go way beyond the call of duty, and are there out of a deep commitment to give kids a true learning experience. Most of the teahers could all be highly successful in any other field, but are choosing to give kids something powerful. The principal is superficial, and concerned with being on time, test scores, etc. But the faculty mitigates the rigidity imposed by the system."